Embedded Smart Card Profile Change Notification Mechanism

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Solution Overview

Problem

Embedded smart cards face challenges in notifying a subscription manager of profile status changes, such as enabling or disabling profiles, due to identifier changes that disrupt communication protocols, leading to uncertainty about the active profile and associated credentials.

Innovation Solution

The embedded smart card implements a notification mechanism that receives a profile status change command, stores response parameters and modes for transport security protocols, changes the profile status, resets upon request, and sends a notification to the subscription manager using these parameters and modes, including identifiers like IMEI, MSISDN, and eUICC-ID, to ensure the subscription manager is informed of the active profile.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If the embedded smart card changes profile status (enabling/disabling profiles), then network connectivity is maintained through profile switching, but identifier changes disrupt communication protocols and create uncertainty about the active profile

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprofile switching capabilityVSAvoidcommunication protocol stability
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The embedded smart card sends a notification message to the subscription manager after executing a profile status change command, providing feedback about the actual active profile. This feedback mechanism allows the subscription manager to verify the profile change was successful and update its records accordingly, resolving the uncertainty caused by identifier changes during profile switching

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system stores response parameters associated with the profile status change command before execution. These pre-stored parameters include identifier information that will be used in the notification message, ensuring that the subscription manager receives accurate information about the active profile state without disruption to the switching process

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Loss of information

If the embedded smart card sends notification after profile status change, then subscription manager is informed of active profile, but additional communication steps increase system complexity

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprofile status informationVSAvoidnotification mechanism complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The notification message combines multiple pieces of information including profile status confirmation, active profile identifier, and command execution status into a single communication packet. This merging of information reduces the number of separate communication steps needed and simplifies the overall notification mechanism while ensuring complete information transfer to the subscription manager

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP2773077B1Notification mechanism
Publication Date: 2019.08.07 IDEMIA FRANCE SAS
  • EP2773077B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2773077B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2773077B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An embedded smart card (102) implementing a notification mechanism for notifying a subscription manager (108) upon execution of a profile status change command is disclosed. The embedded smart card (102) receives the profile status change command from the subscription manager (108) and stores response parameters associated with the profile status change command. Thereafter, the embedded smart card (102) changes a status of a targeted profile in the embedded smart (102) card upon execution of the profile status change command. Once the profile status change command is executed, the embedded smart card (102) sends a notification to the subscription manager (108) using the response parameters.